The human mind influences the human body and its actions. Willpower is the key to unleashing the power of the human body, and mental preparation harnesses the force of willpower. Mental preparation plays a role in all performances; the harder the performance, the more preparation is needed. Preparedness is key in any athletic event; to focus the energy of the mind into forcing the body to perform better requires willpower. It plays a key role in public speaking and presentations: knowing the topic fluently and being at ease with the material covered is crucial to successfully arguing your point. Being mentally prepared for school assessments is also essential for performing well and getting good grades, for to know and understand the subject requires a degree of preparation. Mental preparation before any event helps to focus the energy produced by the body into the performance, be it a physical or mental performance.
As any serious athlete will agree, one who has prepared for an event has a tremendous advantage over one who has not prepared. The mind has the power to make the body do almost anything: �set your mind to it� and it will happen. Mental preparation takes that power and focuses it, producing a heightened awareness that can cause an athlete to run faster, hit harder, or shoot more accurately. All the body�s energy is focused into making that one action happen. Skiers show their preparation more than almost any other form of athlete. Each individual may have his or her own routine, but all good routines have the same basis. Every skier who comes down a course has memorized that course down to the last turn. He or she can often be seen �running through� the course before even starting, imagining himself skiing the course and making that turn a little faster, and that turn a little closer, and that turn a little more aggressively. His preparation may also come in the form of listening to a certain song to get �pumped up,� or stretching, or even jumping up and down to get warm; whatever the individual habit, this preparation shows when the racer runs the course. The explosive energy each racer has as he comes out of every turn demonstrates the level of focus and power produced by his body and mind. However, the energy produced by mental preparation is not always released physically; mental power can be enhanced by preparation as well.
Public performances require a high degree of mental preparation as well. Public speaking is one such form of performance. Knowing your topic fluently involves researching and learning the material. Staying relaxed during your presentation, however, takes even a higher level of preparation: the ability to relax requires willpower. The ability to channel the mind�s energy into presenting your information, and defending your ideas, can be the difference between success and failure. These two factors, the knowledge of material and ability to stay relaxed, can affect school performance as well.
Studying is the answer to almost all students� school problems; if they do poorly on a test, they will reason that they did not study hard enough. However, studying is not the only element of preparation for a test or quiz. To know and understand the material is, of course, necessary, but the ability to stay calm is key. Tension and anxiety have a nasty habit of cutting off a student�s access to his or her pool of knowledge. Fear of the consequences of failure, or simply of the difficulty of the test, can severely impair the test-taker�s capability to show his or her grasp of the concept being tested. Mentally preparing for a test will help a student remain calm during the test; being satisfied with the fact that you know the material fully will help reduce nervousness.
The harnessing of the energy produced by human willpower requires mental preparation. Preparation for athletic events helps focus the body�s energy into performing better, faster, and stronger. Preparation for public events creates a more powerful impression upon the audience by increasing knowledge and understanding of the topic. Preparation for school assessments helps lessen anxiety, making for easier access to stored knowledge, thereby boosting grades. By focusing the energy generated by the mind and body, mental preparation increases performance for any event.